Access to Justice
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May 09, 2024
Response to Gary Joseph: A plea for civil discourse in high-conflict parenting disputes | Barbara Landau
When family law was taught in the late 1970s, it was called “Civil Procedure” — and I could hardly think of a better oxymoron. Gary Joseph, a leading family lawyer, is to be commended for his welcome insight and reminder that separations are about FAMILY.
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May 09, 2024
Learning who your friends are | David Dorson
Being charged with a crime will cost you in many ways. One of them is that you will inevitably lose people who matter to you. Many people will drop out of your life — and if you are lucky, some will also show themselves as true friends.
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May 09, 2024
IRCC’s inadequate online access for clients seeking immigration info ‘untenable’: federal watchdog
The years-long failure of the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to create a functional system to digitally communicate with would-be immigrants has pushed tens of thousands of IRCC clients (and their lawyers) to try to track the progress of their immigration applications via the access-to-information portals of the federal immigration department and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), says federal Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard, who called the status quo and resulting deluge of access to information requests “simply untenable.”
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May 08, 2024
New appointment to Quebec Superior Court announced
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani appointed Catherine Dagenais as a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec in Montreal, a news release from the Department of Justice announced.
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May 08, 2024
Law Society of Ontario sidesteps 100 years of common law rights | Joseph Chiummiento
On April 25, 2024, the directors of the largest legal regulator in North America surrendered over 100 years of well-earned common law rights to information. It is hard to see in this scenario how curtailing a director’s right to information serves the public interest.
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May 06, 2024
Ottawa’s proposed $72M for immigration legal aid in 2024 helps but more funds needed, CBA says
Immigration lawyers say federal Budget 2024’s boost for immigration legal aid is very welcome, but higher funding is necessary if the burgeoning number of refugee claimants are to access justice in Canada. As unveiled on April 16, 2024, by Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Budget 2024 proposes $72 million for immigration legal aid in 2024-25, up from $43.5 million per year in Budgets 2023 and 2022.
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May 06, 2024
Manitoba creates endowment fund for families of missing, murdered Indigenous women
Manitoba’s government is creating a $15 million endowment fund for a grant program offering help to the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people (MMIWG2S+).
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May 03, 2024
SCC clarifies judges’ duty to inform accused of right to trial in accused’s chosen official language
The Supreme Court of Canada has set out the analytical framework for conviction appeals by accused who weren’t informed by the first instance judge of their fundamental right to be tried in the official language of their choice, in breach of the judge’s informational duties under s. 530(3) of the Criminal Code.
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May 02, 2024
New independent watchdog would assess & report how Ottawa carries out its modern treaty obligations
Ottawa says it will create an independent oversight body, led by a new “Commissioner for Modern Treaty Implementation” who reports to Parliament and whose role will be “to work to hold the Government of Canada accountable for its modern treaty obligations and advance key priorities.”
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May 02, 2024
Is sharing family pet ‘best for all concerned’ in pet custody cases? | V. Victoria Shroff, KC
While companion animals are still property under B.C.’s new family law statute, they now have an elevated status above bare property like a toaster.